Pictures!

1. Everything we got given on the street one night. It was CRAZY! HOw many missionaries can come home saying that in their puisrse they had, goat milk, peanuts, walnuts, some type of herb- I stilll don't know what it is, green onions and radishes, oh an a random piece of candy from a babyshka.

2. Another reason why I can't EVER leave the Oktabrasky prihod. I love them too much!

3. In the park. There is a tradition in russia that when yoiu get married you put a lock onb a bridge. I have already decided and it's not up for debate that my future husband and I will be doing that, so whoever that lucky gent is-- we're going to find a bridge!

well the first picture is just me in the park

The second is the "classic" what a missionary eats in a week picture. That is our weekly grocery haul so there you go. that's about what I eat.

and finally my boyfried in the park. I always get asked from people, when they know i"m from idaho, if there are indians. Always tempting to say yes. So that is my boyfriend in the park I found, hottie right?

A Check on the Mission List

TAYLOR GRADUATED!!! Congrats! Way to go! I’m so proud of you and so proud of who you are. You are an amazing young adult and will do amazing in life! Now….go find a job, you bumJ
Well another week down in mission field, always interesting. It has been a good week, as usual lots of stress, ups and downs and everything in between. We are proud to announce that this week we were gifted with a multitude of random food items—displayed below in picture—one of the many joys of being a sister missionary.
I have to say that this week contains my CRAZIEST missionary night story yet. Although not scary like the Elder’s and not filled with running and jumping on trains like a movie, I think this night hits the top for Quality Missionary moments—especially in Russia. There is a comic about missionaries that lists certain events that need to happen on your mission like get cursed, get chased by dog, etc. Well this night hit quite a few of those so it all starts as we are walking the streets, already tired and run into our friendly babyshka friend who is RUSSIAN ORTHODOX. She is ALWAYS trying to tell us about her church and what she does etc. We love to talk to her and she is really funny! She lives in a little house up in the and has goats and lots of vegetables. (She is the one who gave us the goat milk and all of the vegetables). Anyway she invited us over immediately to share a spiritual thought with her. Well she has a really cool house, as I said on top of a hill so the view was amazing and it was beautiful there! We sat down to have our spiritual thought and I looked on the table and she had “bmecte haveki” or the Together Forever film the church puts out. I asked her how she had that film and she said she LOVES it, agrees with all of the doctrines etc. I asked her where she got it because we had not given it to her and she said she bought it at church. I thought that was a little interesting because I didn’t know the Pravaslavni church sold Together Forever and I didn’t know that you could even BUY it—I think the church gives them out for free…. So anyways we talked about Jesus Christ and read a good article out of the Ensign. We then asked if we could pray with her. She said sure and started to pray. She then directed each of us to pray. As we prayed she prayed in tongues in a whisper over the top of us. My companion and I just looked at each other a little shocked but just said, oh well. We finished the prayer and she then began to recite the Lord’s Prayer. She asked us why we didn’t join in and we explained that we still didn’t know it perfectly in Russian. We then all hiked back down the hill and she gave us a lecture on how everyone should be able to recite the Lord’s prayer etc. Overall and it was very interesting but just one of those classic mission moments. I think that probably ever missionary has had someone pray in tongues at one point on their mission and I’m just glad that it finally happened to me.
The rest of the week was pretty good but seems a little boring after that story. We had some good lessons in the park and our love for the park grows more and more everyday as we have lessons there. It is such a nice place to meet people and always peaceful. This week should be pretty good filled with an exciting visa trip to Kiev tomorrow to renew my visa and then lots of MISSIONARY WORK. Well the church is true. I love all of you and have to give a special shout out to Katie—tell Nance I miss her and will also join you in her camp. Woohoo!
Thanks for the love support and prayers.
Sister Morris

My Brother's all Grown Up!

Well first things first! Congratulations Taylor that you GRADUATED!!! And molodets on tennis. It is so fun to be able to read about you and to see how you are doing. I can't wait to do some time together at BYU! WOOHOO! Well this week was GREAT! We had so many miracles and met with some amazing people! We had a fantastic week of just "missionarying" and we really saw the hand of the Lord in our work.
Tuesday night we had a great lesson with our investigator Tatiana and are so excited to keep working with her. There was a class from a traveling couple missionary Tuesday night and so we taught her before the class and then while she was in the class we had interviews with President Bennett. They were amazing and I am so grateful for an AMAZING mission president who is so aware of all of the missionaries and what they need. we also had Zone Conference this past week and it was great! It was really inspiring and just made me want to be a 100% better as a missionary. Always at conference I get a new perspective on missionary work and it is always just a great energizer to keep going and doing this work. We talked a lot about patience and it was such a good reminder for me that this works takes time but most importantly that GOD knows everything. He knows all of our investigator;'s, He knows all of the people we talk to, serve, see on the street etc. He will always do the work how it needs to be done and all we can do is our very best, serving with all of our heart, might and mind and then it's up to the Lord.
Thursday we were able to have a great lesson with another of our investigators and watch "the Restoration". IT was great to be able to talk about Joseph Smith and how he was a prophet. It is amazing to think about what he did for us and for the church and the sacrifice he was willing to give. What we are asked to do really is such a small amount. We are here to be witnesses of God and to help people come unto him. We do that through our examples and by talking to our friends and colleauges about the church and about what we believe. It is our responsibiltiy and duty to share the Gospel with those around us and to "lift the heads that hang hopelessly down". As I said I can't even number all of the amazing miracles we saw this week just in talking to people, teaching and working with members. It is very true that as a missionary you never feel more love. On the street this week we were given flowers from 3 people! We just talked to them and at the end of our conversation they decided to give us flowers. The Elder's, I think are getting a little frustrated with us because they haven't gotten any yet;) When they call to make sure we are all home we now have to say, "doma, vo vrema, bezapocnasti, i c cvettochkami", "home, on time, safely and with flowers"! This work is amazing and I LOVE IT! I am so grateful to have this teeny-tiny experience to serve the Lord. A mission really is such a miniscule amount of time to give the to the Lord and I"m excited to be able to serve my whole life. It really is true-- every member a missionary. Thankyou for the love and support and especially prayers! The missionaries need it! I love you all and hope you have a FANTASTIC week!
SIster Morris

More Pictures!

an icicle here in russia- and I can easily say this was a MEDIUM sized icicle. Sometimes, missionaries get bored on the streets and fight.... ok not really.... but we decided to take a picture with one
The park!!! There is a sign that says: "Things that are banned" We are 99% sure that we will be on that list soon-- so watch out missionaries;)
STOP- Still haven't figured out why traffic signs in Russia are written in English but oh well
This was at the baptism a couple weeks ago-- Sister Stolyarova, Sister Averyanova
Ct. Sly, an elder serving here, Rinat- our ward mission leade who is voobshe molodets and helps us all of the time, Lena- my little mini-missionary who I am in LOVE with and also helps us FREQUENTLY (she actually is the reason we were able to call home- she bought our phone cards for us) and my new comanion sister sorensen from Texas
I had to take this picture for "posterity". The bridge that I fell down one cold/icy night in Russia, yea, it's a big bridge, I wasn't kidding.

Pictures!

10 months on my mission= pizza party! This pizza was with Tvorog (my favorite food in Russia), apples and cinnamon sugar... mmmmm....
Why I love my branch!!!! The young adults! I am in love with each and every one of them. They are fantastic.

The Anastasia remnant in our area

Halfway through May!

Dear Family and Friends!
Well I'm glad to hear that everything is well at home! i have to say first that Taylor is amazing! HOLY COW! Your talk was incredible. Thankyou so much for that and for letting me read it. I think you are developing your dad's gift of being able to give talks. I loved everything you said and it was so intersting to read it and to feel your testimony. You are growing into an incredible young man and I am so excited to spend some time with you soon at BYU. Thanks for your talk.
This week was good. Nothing too exciting happened but we had a crazy week of just running into people on the street that were either or investigators or we had talked to before. I think that they were "tender mercies" from Heavenly Father and it was just a reminded to me that he always answers prayers and is VERY AWARE of all of his missionaries-- even when we think he's not. Last Monday because Sunday was Mother's day we thought it was best if we bought some flowers and gave them to our "mom" here in Russia so we hit the rinok and bought some daisies for Valentina. We knocked on her door and she was so happy and surprised! SHe loved it!!! She gave us kisses, told us how much she loves us and was so grateful! WE told her how grateful we were for her and all she does for us literally EVERY DAY! It was a great way to brighten someone's day.
This week I also got told that I am 40ish. NA camom dele I don't think it was meant to be that way but it was pretty funny. We talked to a lady on the street and she asked my companion if I was her mom. I just laughed and said, "huh?" I explained that we were just FRIENDS and she said oh okay. I guess I look old but oh well! 10 months on the mission this week. I'm like a Grandma now! We had a pizza party to celebrate 10 months on the mission and had really yummy pizza! Yea for missions!
We had a couple great lessons this week with our investigators and it is so cool to see how they are progressing. We had a great lesson this week with one of our investigator's about the Restoration and PROPHETS. She had AMAZING questions about how we know that the prophet REALLY is a prophet and not just a guy who said, "hey, look, I'm a prophet"". It was a great experience to be able to bear testimony and then ask her to pray to know that Thomas C. MOnson in a prophet. People are so used to someone telling them what to do, what to believe and what is "TRUE". Our church is differnet in that way. I can tell everyone here that Thomas S. Monson is a prophet and he is, but it's up to them to know for themselves. As it says in the Introdction to the Book of Mormon "we invite all men, everywhere, to read the book and ask GOD." It's their choice, their decision and their answer to know that he was a prophet. WE challenged her to ASK GOd to know if he is a prophet and that Joseph Smith was a prophet and it was just a great lesson. I love when people have questions because it means they are THINKING! We also ran into a contact we had met a few weeks ago and had lost contact with. Unfortnately she had read on the internet a LOT about our church and none of it true. She said she was too scared to come to church because she heard how we do crazy things with dead people etc. We talked to her for a long time and again, just issued the challenge to pray for herself to know. TO come to church and see for HERSELF what we do at church and what our church is like. It was a good converation and I was just so grateful for the chance Heavenly Father has given us to know, decide and feel for ourselves and to be agents to ourselves. We all have the opportunity and privilege to know truth and the only source for truth is God, our Heavenly Father. I know he answers prayers and I know that he is aware of each one of us!
Well I'm out of time but have a great week and share the Gospel! It's our responsibility and really, our privilege. I love you all!
Sister Morris

HAPPY MOTHER's DAY and PRIVET DAD!

So I think I could be named as the worst daughter ever! I talked to my mom today and didn't even say HAPPY MOTHER"S DAY! WHat is that? SORRY mom but just know that I love you and think you are the best mom in the world! It's not even a contest. THankyou for everytihng you do, your testimony and your ability to always know exactly what your kids needs. You are amazing and an amazing example to me and everyone around you. I absolutely LOVED talking to you all today! It was such a treat. I was a little nervous at first thinking , oh I'm going to phone home today but it was fantastic! It is so good to hear that everything is going well and I just love being able to know what everyone is doing. And DAD it was such a treat to talk to you:) And Happy Mother's Day to all the other mothers like SARA- you look so good, SARAH, and AMI, and many many others! And thankyou JILL for the email-- it was a big treat!
Well this week was good. c днём победы!!!! The weather has been AMAZING and we just had some great lessons and things this week! Last Monday we got permission to go into the center of the city to find my companion some shoes and I also was able to look at some new clothes. It was fun to be in the center of the city and we had a good time shopping and looking around. Tuesday night was AMAZING! We had talked to Luba and were able to set up with her to go and visit our hozaika Valentina. We had an amazing night with her and were able to sing war songs, thanks to den pobedi, with her husband Alexander on the accordion. Luba taught us a Russian "war" song and so it was so great to be able to talk to them. Den Pobedi is a big holiday in Russia that celebrates all of the war veterans from World War II and this year was 65 years. It was great to see all of the patriotism.
We also had a lot of great lessons this week with some of our investigators and because the weather has been nice we have been able to just meet in the park. YEA! We can just meet on a nice park bench which is so much nicer! We met a lot of great people this week and so are so excited to keep workgin with them and to teach them. One of our investigator's also returned from being home for about a month adn so we were SOOOOOO excited to see her! I am so happy that she is back and that we can start working with her! SHe is amazing and so we will see how things go. We have met with a lot of youth recently which I absolutely love! Here in Saratov they have a Family Home Evening for the Youth every Wednesday night and so we are so excited to be able to invite youth to there. It is so important to have good friends, to be together and to do things together and have fun together! I was so lucky growing up to have amazing friends, and still do, so I feel very blessed! It really does shape who we are and help us become who we are. We can learn so much from those around us and it is always important to try and always learn what you can from everyone around you. Whether it's a new companion, a ward member, an investigator, your parents, your friends or just someone else hanging around. We can always find the good in everyone!
Well I hope everyone has a good week. Good luck with everything, Taylor good luck with tennis and I love you all!
Sister Morris

May? WHAT??

Family and Friends!
How did it become May!? I don't even know! It is crazy to think that it is already May, especially considering that we are still in scarves, but I am glad to hear that the weather at home is cold as well. We have actually had BEAUTIFUL weather recently and have been so excited to be on the street without a coat! WOOHOO! The trees are all turning green and flowers are starting to appear. Russia really is very beautiful this time of the year and I am LOVING getting to experience a different season here. AND in the most important news... CONGRATS Ami on the baby! She is SOOO beautiful and I am so excited to come and meet her in the next edition of cousin camp! Oh I was so happy to hear that everything went well and that you are both home safe and healthy. Good luck in being a new mom! You are amazing!
Well this week was good. I did get my new companion and things have been good. I LOVED my time with my mini-missionary Lena who is absolutely amazing and strong. Her testiomyn is astounding and i loved learning from her as we studied together, worked together and just had fun. We did make cookies last P-day and she called the next day to say they had made them again at home and everyone loved them. It was such a treat! My new companion is Sister Sorenson and she is from Texas. She has been in Russia 6 months and served her whole time in Taliatti. We have enjoyed getting to know each other and to do the work here in this area. We have had some great experiences so far and are looking forward to lots more as we have the opportunity to serve together.
Well we had some great experiences this week. We were able to meet a woman on the street who had one of those questions of the soul. Her intial question was if we thought the planets were all going to align in 2012 and if the world was going to end or something like that and I just shrugged my shoulders and said "I don't know". I thought that it would be a good time to use the "phone a friend" card and call dad who should know about that kind of thing with his insane knowledge of science fiction (and yes dad, I do read your emails every week). But we got to the "bottom of things" and found out that she had the question that a lot of people have of why is there so much trial, sorrow and tribulation in the world if Heavenly Father really does love us and what is after this life. We were able to bear testimony and share with her a lot of information about the Plan of Salvation. It was a great convesation and we defintiely felt uplifted. It's conversations like that that make you think, "yeah, I want to be a missionary." It made me really think about why is there so much "unjusitce" in the world and why do some people have so many problems while it seems that others "dance through life" as my good friend Fiero says. But we know the answer and we know the outcome. The plan of salvation and the sacrifice that our Savior Jesus Christ made for us is such a miracle! I may never be able to explain if the planets will align and the sun will stop burnign and all of the banks will close (or something like that- I don't remember exactly all of the signs she listed) but I do know that regardless of trial and tribulation Heavenly Father loves each and every one of us. I do know that Jesus Christ WILLINGLY gave His life for us and it is through that "great and lasting sacrifice" that we will all return to live with our Heavenly Father someday. Although there is trial and tirbulation They have given us the key to happiness and it is the Gospel. It is found in keeping the commandments, using the atonement and truly getting to know our Savior. So even if the world ends in.. 2 years... we know where we are going and why and it is a beautiful gift from our Heavenly Father. So.... in short... the knowledge we have is something that we need to share with others. So when the question cmes up of "I think I saw Saturn closer to the moon last night" we know that everything is in the Lord's hands and as long as we are diligent and obedient, if the planets really do align, maybe it just means we'll finally get to talk to the aliens. I love you all! Thanks for the love, support and prayers. Continue to help the missionaries in your area!
Sister Morris